--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we discover that the truth is…" description: "\"When we discover that the truth is already in us, we are all at once our original selves.\" — Dogen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64c/dogen-2979_creativity_when-we-discover-that-the-truth-is-alrea_1986431.jpg" --- # When we discover that the truth is already in us, we are… ![“When we discover that the truth is already in us, we are all at once our original selves.” quote by Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64c/dogen-2979_creativity_when-we-discover-that-the-truth-is-alrea_1986431.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64c/dogen-2979_creativity_when-we-discover-that-the-truth-is-alrea_1986431.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64c/dogen-2979_creativity_when-we-discover-that-the-truth-is-alrea_1986431.jpg) > “When we discover that the truth is already in us, we are all at once our original selves.” [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Realizing truth within oneself reveals our authentic nature instantly. **In simple terms:** Inner truth reveals our true self. Key Takeaway Trust your inner insight. Themes self‑discovery truth authenticity Mood contemplative insightful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - spiritual practice - leadership Key Concepts Buddhist philosophy mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize inner truth? - What practices help reveal authenticity? A Different Perspective Self‑delusion can block this insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Discover Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discover-truth/) [Original Selves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/original-selves-3420034/) [Selves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selves/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-is/) [Truth Original](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-original-237719/) ## Related quotes > [“Life batters and shapes us in all sorts of ways before it's done, but those original selves which we were born with, and which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/life-batters-and-shapes-us-in-all-sorts-of-ways-before-it-s-done-but/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [There is no original truth, only original error.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/there-is-no-original-truth-only-original-error/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [“Life is a collection of memories and feelings. Mawkish sentimentally urges us to engage in artistic overtures, we yearn to share with other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/life-is-a-collection-of-memories-and-feelings-mawkish-sentimentally/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [I shall be obliged to wander to the right and to the left, that I may investigate and discover the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-de-montesquieu/i-shall-be-obliged-to-wander-to-the-right-and-to-the-left-that-i-may/) [Baron de Montesquieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-de-montesquieu/) > [One must know oneself. If this does not serve to discover truth, it at least serves as a rule of life and there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/one-must-know-oneself-if-this-does-not-serve-to-discover-truth-it-at/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [“We rarely read the Bible to discover truth; more often, we wish to harmonize it with our belief system and see its meaning in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-rarely-read-the-bible-to-discover-truth-more-often-we-wish-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Since you may never discover the truth, invent it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-lore/since-you-may-never-discover-the-truth-invent-it/) [Nicholas Lore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-lore/) > [“...the best way to know the Truth or Beauty is to try to express it. And what is the purpose of existence Here or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/the-best-way-to-know-the-truth-or-beauty-is-to-try-to-express-it-and/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [You have to dig deep down in your soul to discover the truth that dispels the lies you were told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akil-johnson/you-have-to-dig-deep-down-in-your-soul-to-discover-the-truth-that/) [Akil Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akil-johnson/) > [“Better not to discover your truth, either to be amazed or shocked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamile/better-not-to-discover-your-truth-either-to-be-amazed-or-shocked/) [Jamile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamile/) > [One must become as humble as the dust before he can discover truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/one-must-become-as-humble-as-the-dust-before-he-can-discover-truth/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The great quest of life has always been to discover truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/the-great-quest-of-life-has-always-been-to-discover-truth/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [Latter-day Saints are not asked to blindly accept everything they hear. We are encouraged to think and discover truth for ourselves. We are expected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/latter-day-saints-are-not-asked-to-blindly-accept-everything-they/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [In order to discover truth, we must be truthful ourselves, and must welcome those who point out our errors as heartily as those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-muller/in-order-to-discover-truth-we-must-be-truthful-ourselves-and-must/) [Max Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-muller/) > [Why waste time trying to discover the truth, when you can so easily create it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/why-waste-time-trying-to-discover-the-truth-when-you-can-so-easily/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) ## More by Dogen > [The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/the-whole-moon-and-the-entire-sky-are-reflected-in-one-dewdrop-on-the/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [When a buddha is painted, not only a clay altar or lump of earth is used, but the thirty-two marks, a blade of grass,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/when-a-buddha-is-painted-not-only-a-clay-altar-or-lump-of-earth-is/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [Just as parents care for their children, you should bear in mind the whole universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/just-as-parents-care-for-their-children-you-should-bear-in-mind-the/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [Yet you must not cling to the words of the old sages either; they, too, may not be right. Even if you believe them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/yet-you-must-not-cling-to-the-words-of-the-old-sages-either-they-too/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [Set aside all involvements and let the myriad things rest. Zazen is not thinking of good, not thinking of bad. It is not conscious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/set-aside-all-involvements-and-let-the-myriad-things-rest-zazen-is/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [Though it has no thought of keeping watch, it's not for naught that the scarecrow stands in the grain field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/though-it-has-no-thought-of-keeping-watch-it-s-not-for-naught-that/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [Continuous practice, day after day, is the most appropriate way of expressing gratitude. This means that you practice continuously, without wasting a single day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/continuous-practice-day-after-day-is-the-most-appropriate-way-of/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [Whenever learners or those beyond learning awaken the mind, for the first time they plant one buddha-nature. Working with the four elements and five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/whenever-learners-or-those-beyond-learning-awaken-the-mind-for-the/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [“If you are unable to find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/if-you-are-unable-to-find-the-truth-right-where-you-are-where-else-do/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [Realization doesn't destroy the individual any more than the reflection of the moon breaks a drop of water. A drop of water can reflect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/realization-doesn-t-destroy-the-individual-any-more-than-the/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [“If you attain unsurpassable, complete enlightenment, all sentient beings also attain it. The reason is that all sentient beings are aspects of enlightenment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/if-you-attain-unsurpassable-complete-enlightenment-all-sentient/) [Dōgen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [To study the Way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/to-study-the-way-is-to-study-the-self-to-study-the-self-is-to-forget/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [“Every man possesses the Buddha-nature. Do not demean yourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/every-man-possesses-the-buddha-nature-do-not-demean-yourselves/) [Dōgen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [Because mountains are high and broad, the way of riding the clouds is always reached in the mountains; the inconceivable power of soaring in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/because-mountains-are-high-and-broad-the-way-of-riding-the-clouds-is/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [Working with plants, trees, fences and walls, if they practice sincerely they will attain enlightenment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/working-with-plants-trees-fences-and-walls-if-they-practice-sincerely/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) [Explore all 143 Dogen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) ## More Creativity quotes > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“The Soviet “creative intelligentsia” - that is, people accustomed to thinking one thing, saying another and doing a third - is as a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-amalrik/the-soviet-creative-intelligentsia-that-is-people-accustomed-to/) [Andrei Amalrik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-amalrik/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [You don't get lucky. You create lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-don-t-get-lucky-you-create-lucky/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“You are the end of beauty and creativity one must have created so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/you-are-the-end-of-beauty-and-creativity-one-must-have-created-so-far/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“I believe in magic. As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/) [Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/) > [Creativity is like chasing chickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-niemann/creativity-is-like-chasing-chickens/) [Christoph Niemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-niemann/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [Create an environment for people to fail, to learn, and to grow. Their creativity and productivity will increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/create-an-environment-for-people-to-fail-to-learn-and-to-grow-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 13,625 Creativity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When we discover that the truth is already in us, we are all at once our original selves.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dogen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/when-we-discover-that-the-truth-is-already-in-us-we-are-all-at-once/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Creativity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/when-we-discover-that-the-truth-is-already-in-us-we-are-all-at-once/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64c/dogen-2979_creativity_when-we-discover-that-the-truth-is-alrea_1986431.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64c/dogen-2979_creativity_when-we-discover-that-the-truth-is-alrea_1986431.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64c/dogen-2979_creativity_when-we-discover-that-the-truth-is-alrea_1986431.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When we discover that the truth is already in us, we are all at once our original selves.” — Dogen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dogen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When we discover that the truth...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/when-we-discover-that-the-truth-is-already-in-us-we-are-all-at-once/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/when-we-discover-that-the-truth-is-already-in-us-we-are-all-at-once/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```